Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: Court order bans debt collector from debt collection business, (Jun 17, 2016)

By Michael Menzhuber, J.D., LL.M.

Pursuant to a court order obtained by the FTC, Gail Daniels and The Primary Group are banned from the debt collection business, the FTC announced yesterday (FTC v. The Primary Group, May 19, 2016, FTC File 1423158).

The FTC’s request for summary judgment against the defendants, in an action filed by the Agency in May of 2015, was granted on all counts by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, on May 19, 2016. The court entered summary judgment against the defendants after finding that they had deceived consumers via text messages, emails, and phone calls that falsely threatened them with arrest or lawsuits if they did not make debt collection payments. The court had previously halted the defendants’ debt collection scheme and frozen their assets pending litigation.

The court’s final order bans/prohibits the defendants from:

• debt collection activities;

• misrepresenting material facts about financial-related products and services; and

• profiting from consumers’ personal information and failing to dispose of it properly.

In addition, the order imposes a judgment of $980,000, which represents the amount of money collected by the defendants from the scheme.

Companies: The Primary Group Inc.

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews